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Do you know a protein tweak makes crispr gene times less error-prone and it is a revolutionized breakout. So what’s the full story? Have a look at given update!!
The CRISPR gene-editing system is a powerful tool that has the potential to transform medicine and other scientific fields, but regrettably, it has a tendency to make alterations to the wrong portions of DNA.
This could prevent the technology from fully realising its full potential. Now, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered a previously unknown structure of the protein that is responsible for these blunders, and they have modified it to lower the risk of off-target mutations by a factor of 4,000.
In order to make precise changes to particular DNA sequences in living cells, CRISPR tools make use of a specific protein called Cas9 most of the time. This can involve removing genes that are harmful, such as those that are responsible for disease, and/or replacing them with genes that are helpful. The difficulty is that the instrument can occasionally make alterations to the incorrect sections, which has the potential to create a wide variety of other health disorders.
And in the latest study, researchers from the University of Tennessee found out how some of these errors can occur. In most cases, the Cas9 protein is searching for a particular sequence of 20 letters in the DNA code. However, if it discovers a sequence in which only 18 of the 20 letters match its target, it may proceed to alter the DNA regardless. Cryo-electron microscopy was utilised by the group so that they could view what Cas9 is doing while it is interacting with a mismatched sequence in order to gain insight into why this phenomenon occurs.
They were taken aback when they came across a peculiar structure that resembled fingers and which had never been seen before. This finger extended itself and stabilised the DNA sequence, allowing the protein to continue making its edit without interference.
Following the discovery of this process, the group modified this finger in such a way that it no longer served to stabilise the DNA but rather to move away from it. This stops Cas9 from editing that sequence, making it 4,000 times less probable that the tool will cause changes in locations other than its intended target. The novel protein has been given the name SuperFi-Cas9 by the research group.
Cas9 has been modified by a number of other groups of researchers in order to improve its accuracy; nevertheless, these modifications frequently slow down the editing processes that were intended. According to the findings of the UT researchers, SuperFi-Cas9 is still capable of making its typical alterations at the same pace as before.
SuperFi-Cas9 has only been tested on DNA in test tubes up to this point, but the researchers intend to show how it can modify genes in living cells in the next round of their research.
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